AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

Where Are They Now, the 8 that Voted Against the Repeal of Glass-Steagall??
Wed Apr 1, 2009

While there are many threads to the torn fabric that led to the implosion of our banking system and the stock market collapse, one of the major reasons was the repeal of the Glass-Steagall regulations with the passage of the 1999 bill called the Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill.

There was plenty of debate about this bill inside Congress and even more debate outside the hallowed halls. But in the end, only eight of our senators voted against Gramm-Leach-Bliley:

The esteemed Sen. Barbara Boxer of California.
Nevada's Sen. Richard Bryan.
Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota.
Wisconsin's renegade 'progressive patriot', Sen. Russ Feingold.
Iowa's onetime candidate for president, Sen. Tom Harkin.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
The lone Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.
The late Paul Wellstone of Minnesota.

While they have had the satisfaction of being right, they were not called upon to serve in the new Democratic administration. Why is that?

By contrast, one of those who was most vocal and passionate about supporting the Gramm bill was Lawrence Summers, onetime Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton. He said upon passage of the bill:

"Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century. This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy. *"

Good thing that guy Summers does not dare show his face around anymore. Wait, no, isn't he the new director of the White House National Economic Council. I wonder how he got that job, and what is on his agenda nowadays.

You would think that with all those promises of change, that the prescient senators would have been rewarded for their common sense and financial sagacity with nice new jobs with the Obama administration. Not yet, anyway.

* Labaton, Stephen, Congress Passes Wide-Ranging Bill Easing Bank Laws, the New York Times, Nov. 5, 1999, http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/05/business/congress-passes-wide-ranging-bill-easing-bank-laws.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
http://minnieapolis.newsvine.com/_news/2009/04/01/2629443-where-are-they-now-the-8-that-voted-against-the-repeal-of-glass-steagall

Tuesday, Apr 28
April Ratings: FNC Beats CNN and MSNBC Combined

How's this for cable news domination - Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in every hour from 6amET to MidnightET in both Total Viewers and the A25-54 demo for April 2009.

FNC had the top 11 cable news programs in Total Viewers and 12 of the top 15 in the demo. FNC is the #2 network in Total Viewers on all of cable.

From 9amET on, every program grew by more than 60% in the demo. The 5pmET hour, now occupied by Glenn Beck, is up 212% in the demo and up 128% in Total Viewers. Your World with Neil Cavuto is up 102% in the demo and up 60% in Total Viewers. On the Record with Greta Van Susteren is up 75% in demo and up 55% in Total Viewers. Also in demo: FOX Report is up 75%, Special Report 70%, The O'Reilly Factor 74% and Hannity 64%.

Fox & Friends has now been #1 for 90 consecutive months, Studio B with Shepard Smith for 80 consecutive months.
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/april_ratings_fnc_beats_cnn_and_msnbc_combined_115179.asp

Fair enough, though Rachel Maddow and MSNBC don't exactly have a stellar reputation on objectivity and get big points for partisanship, but certainly their opinion should be included.

What Rachel leaves out in this Youtube clip, however, is how bipartisan repeal of Glass-Steagall was and how much President Clinton wanted it. I think that is pretty pertinent when we analyze how it all happened. Don't you?

Fair enough, though Rachel Maddow and MSNBC don't exactly have a stellar reputation on objectivity and get big points for partisanship, but certainly their opinion should be included.

Alternatively, Fox News ratings and self identification as Republicans amongst the general population are inversely proportional.

Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist

April 27, 2009
COLLEEN O’BOYLE and TIM SCHEIDERER

Bozell: "The Media and Obama: 100 Days and Still Madly in Love"

Alexandria, VA " President Barack Obama has put forward policies representing the most radical government intervention in the free market in American history, with more proposals for even greater government interference on the way. But according to the Media Research Center (MRC), DURING Obama’s first 100 days in office the media have steadfastly refused to report this. In fact, rather than challenging the President’s radical policies, network news reporters have often celebrated Obama’s radical agenda.

MRC analysts examined all 852 stories on the Obama administration from January 20 through April 15 on ABC’s World News, the CBS Evening News and the NBC Nightly News. We will publish a detailed report on coverage of Obama’s first 100 days (ending April 29) in May. The trends, however, are evident.

Among the key findings thus far:

Sanitizing Obama’s Socialist Agenda. None of the three broadcast network aired a single story focused on whether President Obama’s economic policies were driving the U.S. towards European-style socialism. Not a single network news reporter used the term “socialist” to describe how Obama’s policies are shifting economic authority to the federal government, away from the free market. On only four occasions was the word “socialist” used on-camera at all " all by outside sources, once by a random man-on-the-street.

Obama is not a “Liberal,” Either. Amazingly, network reporters never called Obama or his agenda even “liberal.” NBC and CBS never used the word, and ABC only aired the term twice, citing Republicans using the word “liberal” to describe Obama’s policies.

No Conservatives Allowed. On three of Obama’s major economic policies and plans - his banking bailout, his auto bailout and his plans for universal health care - the networks never had a single sound bite from a conservative or a free market expert.

One out of four bank bailout stories (17 of 74) discussed the concept of outright government bank nationalization. In only two was a free market person allowed to rebut.
http://mrc.org/press/2009/press20090427.asp

I disagree that there is 'self-identification as "Republican"' at Fox News.

Earlier today I was listening to an interview--I forget the name--with a person who was commenting on the fact that President Obama's approval rating remain high even as most Americans appose essentially of his policies, both enacted and those proposed.

Earlier today I was listening to an interview--I forget the name--with a person who was commenting on the fact that President Obama's approval rating remain high even as most Americans appose essentially of his policies, both enacted and those proposed. Her opinion was that it is difficult for us to lose faith in our heroes because we so much want to believe in them. It is emotionally wrenching to give up hope and therefore we avoid that as long as possible. We resist believing that we were wrong.

A woman's right to do so is legal and secured by the Constitution.

Twice as much debt is NOT 4 times or 3.4 times as much. Ican is posting bull **** and the article you posted confirms it.